Inadvertent discharge of firearms is one of the leading causes of accidental injuries and deaths involving firearms. When a firearm is dropped or experiences the application of a force or other jarring event, the application of such force to the firearm can cause the firearm to inadvertently discharge either by causing the release of the firing pin in a percussion firing system in which the firing pin strikes and thus initiates firing of a round of ammunition within the chamber of a firearm, or, in the case of an electrically actuated firearm, causes an inadvertent trigger signal to be sent to the firearm control system in response to which an electric firing pulse is transmitted to the round of ammunition. In addition, there are times when a firearm is placed in an unsafe orientation or position and its trigger is inadvertently engaged, resulting in an inadvertent or undesired discharge of the firearm. For example, if the firearm is rotated upside down or canted at an angle of more than 45 degrees, such conditions generally are considered unsafe for the discharge of the firearm.
It is important, therefore, to be able to detect when a firearm is subjected to a jarring event and/or undesired movement, such as undue acceleration or being moved into an undesirable or unsafe orientation, and prevent the inadvertent or undesired discharge of the firearm, but without unduly interfering with the normal operation of the firearm and preventing its safe, authorized use.